Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said not only will she remain involved in U.S. national politics but she plans to jump back into the national scrum when she leaves office at the end of the month.

Sarah Palin says she'll campaign for candidates "who believe in the right things," regardless of party affiliation.

Published on Mon Jul 13 2009

WASHINGTON – Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said not only will she remain involved in U.S. national politics but she plans to jump back into the national scrum when she leaves office at the end of the month.

The Republican vice-presidential nominee in last year's election said she plans to write a book, campaign for political candidates – even Democrats who share her views on limited government, defence and energy independence – and build a right-of-centre coalition.

"I will go around the country on behalf of candidates who believe in the right things, regardless of their party label or affiliation," she said during an interview published yesterday in the Washington Times.

Palin shocked critics and allies alike when she announced on July 3 she would leave the governor's office while in the middle of her first term. The governor chose not to seek re-election and suggested it was unfair to hold onto the office as a lame duck. Instead, she will step down July 26 and pursue a national profile. She has not said whether she is building toward a presidential campaign for 2012.

A Republican women's organization in California announced Palin was scheduled to speak to its gala on Aug. 8 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. The event – closed to reporters – will take place in a hangar housing a retired presidential aircraft and will stir more questions about her resignation.

Yesterday, her 2008 running mate disputed suggestions the telegenic and plain-spoken Palin is a quitter.

"Oh, I don't think she quit," said Senator John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee who plucked Palin out of near-obscurity and made her a household name. "I think she changed her priorities.''

For now, though, Palin isn't detailing those priorities, telling the Washington Times merely that she's "not ruling out anything."